14 Jul 2019

Netanyahu: Israel will ‘crush’ Lebanon if Hezbollah attacks
Israel will inflict a “crushing” military blow on Hezbollah and Lebanon if Hezbollah dares to strike Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at Sunday’s cabinet meeting. Netanyahu’s comments came in reaction to an interview Hezbollah’s head Hassan Nasrallaeh gave in an interview on Friday with Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV to mark the 13th anniversary of the Second Lebanon War.

Leviathan gas platform embarks on 11,500 km. journey to Israel
The first of four giant barges transporting the Leviathan natural gas platform to Israel departed the Gulf of Mexico last week…ahead of its September installation approximately 10 km. from Israel’s coast. Five operational structures, the 38,000 ton topsides of the Leviathan platform, will make the approximately 11,500 km. trans-Atlantic journey, with the remaining barges due to set sail from Texas in the coming weeks.

Hong Kong protests: Tens of thousands again turn out
Tens of thousands have again taken to the streets of Hong Kong as weeks of anti-government unrest show no sign of stopping. There were violent clashes between police and a small number of demonstrators in Sha Tin. The protests were sparked by a proposed extradition bill which would allow people to be sent to China for trial.

Large earthquakes rock Indonesia, Western Australia
A massive earthquake has hit off the remote Maluku Islands in eastern Indonesia with panicked residents running into the streets. The quake comes hours after Western Australia felt its strongest ever earthquake, which shook residents from Broome to as far south as Perth. The Indonesian quake struck about 165 kilometres south-southwest of the town of Ternate in North Maluku province at 6:28pm local time, at a depth of 10 kilometres…

Qatar, U.N. officials to enter Gaza amid renewed border tension
Delegations from Qatar and the United Nations will enter the Gaza Strip in the coming days in order to continue mediating the indirect talks between Israel and Hamas, sources said Sunday. The news comes amid renewed tension along Israel’s southern border, which began Thursday with the killing of a Hamas operative by IDF troops, who later called the incident a “misunderstanding.”

After Taiwan buys arms, China holds military drills on southeast coast
China’s military recently carried out air and naval drills along its southeast coast, the Defence Ministry said on Sunday, following the latest arms sales from the United States to self-ruled Taiwan, which China claims as a renegade province. In a brief statement, and without giving an exact geographical location, the ministry said that the People’s Liberation Army had in “recent days” held the exercises.